Body Parts
by Syn'ph
Summary: Reborn glanced at the young teenager's face, watched the different expressions flit through his eyes, and finally saw one last look that he couldn't place. He stared a few more seconds to see if Tsuna would do anything, but he did absolutely nothing. And for the first time in meeting his student, the cursed baby was perturbed that he couldn't understand a thing about him. Nothing.


**Body Parts**

Rated: T+

Disclaimer: I...own my head. And my body. And my writing skills. Yep. That's about it. Akira Amano owns the anime, and I give credit and dedicate this to **Otaku908**, who gave me half of this idea unknowingly.

Summary: _Reborn glanced at the young teenager's face, and watched the different expressions flit through his eyes: a combination of love, hate, sadness, bitterness, morbidness, nostalgia, and finally one last look that he couldn't place. He stared a few more seconds to see if Tsuna would do anything, but he did absolutely nothing. And for the first time in meeting his student, the cursed baby was perturbed that he couldn't understand a thing about him, not at all._

On behalf of the Ninth Vongola boss, Nono, Reborn was sent to Sawada Tsunayoshi to be his home tutor to teach him the ways of the mafia. Tsuna seemed average at first-in fact, _below_ average if you consider his abysmal grades- but then he started to notice something strange about the boy. And it seemed that no matter how much he dug and pried, the answers would either dissipate into thin air, or would lead to a dead end, where he would be placed right where he started from.

**A/R:** If you look on my profile, you'll notice that this is the last multi-chapter story I have committed myself to until I am done with another fanfic. Unlike Permanent Error and Darkest Desires, this story takes a dark spin from the very beginning, and it only gets lighter towards the end of the third chapter. Also! This is **important**. In my other stories, I might have put in useless details, trying to flower up the story a bit. But it this one, everything has a meaning. From something as simple as what someone says to something as granular as a murder in a certain time and place. If you do not take notice of this, some things won't make sense. I won't be able to update this fanfic before I update the other one, so you will have to wait until October to see the second chapter.

This is a very different plot on my part (trust me, you probably haven't seen a story like this before), so I might have a bit of difficulty in forming my thoughts and words. With time, though, it should smooth out.

Hope you enjoy.

Genre: Horror/Suspense/Angst/Romance (this is the first quad-genre fanfic I have made yet, so wish me luck!)

**Warnings:** language, mild gore

* * *

A bird.

A dead bird.

There, at his window, was a dead robin. It's fragile wings hugged the bottom portion of the casement, and it's body hovered over the flat side of his desk. It was a rather beautiful bird; it's color was a mixture of a rusty maroon sword and a brilliant sanguine. The bird's eyes were wide open, revealing it's blue pearls, and the legs were open and stiff, almost as if it were ready to attack. But the bird was dead, and there was nothing the poor creature could do to protect itself. Nothing.

The person tsked angrily as he picked up the cold carcass and quickly stormed into the bathroom next to his room. The smell of the rotting body was getting to him as always, but if he had thrown it out of his window, the maggots and flies were guaranteed to be there the next morning to terrorize him in his sleep, buzzing noisily by his ears. And if he had went outside to bury it, someone would notice, and damn it, he didn't want that.

He pushed open the door, hearing it creak with a soft whining sound-maybe the sound one would hear from an old wooden floor-and dropped the dead animal into the toilet, hearing the disconcerting splashing sound of the water and seeing the blood transform the once clear water into a soft vermilion color. He could only watch in horrid fascination as the bird was pushed down into the small hole, it's head decapitating from it's body before falling into the harsh tunnel of water and god knows what else.

The person was about to wash his hands; quite frankly, the smell of blood bothered him-and so did the feel-and he wanted to wash it off as soon as possible. He wanted to feel..._clean_ again. The blood would prevent such a thing from happening. But first, he needed to check something, something major, something dire, something that...just couldn't wait.

He placed the palm of his hand to his mouth and swiped his tongue along the length of it. For a second, the person didn't taste anything particular; that is, until it got to the back of his throat. All of a sudden, a burst of flavors and emotions came into his head, even so much as when he swallowed the surprisingly warm liquid. But the most profound of what he tasted...he didn't like. Bitterness...as hate, a sweet yet tangy taste...as lust and gluttony, blandness...as a repercussion due to familiar events, a sourness scorned only by the fortunate, and...an unknown taste that he could not place. Richness, maybe? No, it seemed too...sour for that.

It didn't matter what that flavor was; all that mattered was that there were a whole bunch of negative flavors, and maybe one questionable positive flavor that could turn sour if he did something wrong. The person sighed tiredly, and in slight annoyance, washed his hands and walked slowly into his room. A sour expression was all over his face, almost as if he had drank a lemon before returning to his room. Why was that?

It was because this time was no good, either. He would hit a dead end, just like how he did before.

* * *

The rays of the morning sunlight basked proudly against the window of a fourteen-year-old boy, one who squirmed restlessly under his bed. The heat was getting to him badly, but he didn't want to move. He wanted to sleep in his bed all day and watch as that horrible sun came up, and went right back down again. But...he knew that if he didn't move, his mother would _move him_.

"I hate school," he whined as he rolled out of bed and reached for the underarm deodorant that was sitting innocently across his table. He didn't want to take a shower; he took one at four in the morning. Taking one again would be too much. He could always just take it when he came home. The boy deprived himself of clothing to splatter a bit of the dusty substance on his body, and then brushed his coffee colored hair into a neat bunch on his head. No matter how hard he tried to keep his hair down and in order, it went right back up again.

He slipped on his uniform before grabbing his bag full of school materials and slipping out of his room. He felt his heart race as he proceeded to join his mother in the kitchen area. Slowly, he put a trembling hand to his chest, and clamped at his skin. Hard.

"Mom, what's today's date," the boy asked as he sat down at the table, eagerly waiting his breakfast meal. No matter how full he was, no matter how much he may have eaten before, he would always save some room for his mother's cooking. Her cooking was the best, after all.

"Oh, you're up early," Nana stated as she happily set down to give him his breakfast. "It is September 10. You remember what today is, right?"

"Yeah..." Tsuna's face took on a blank expression for a second. Yes, today was the day he dreaded. Today was the day that he hated with all of his heart, though he would be damned to show it. He didn't want to make his mom think _worse_ of him; god help him if he ever did that. She already worried too much for him, especially with the grades he had. He had everything from as low as a one to a thirty-two out of one-hundred on his test scores. The only thing that he did well in was lunch, and that was because he had the average amount of attendance. it wasn't because he was smart or anything. It was because he had good participation, that's all.

"The first day of school is sometimes hard, so I can understand why you feel that way," Nana cooed with a bright smile on her face. "but things get better as time goes on, so don't look like that."

_That_ being the somewhat sour expression on the boy's face as he suddenly got up from the table. He was upset, alright, but it had nothing to do with battling the first day of school.

"I...am going to check the mail," Tsuna mumbled as he walked out of the kitchen. He quickly replaced his inside shoes with outdoor ones, and made his way to the mailbox. It was a old, beat-up thing, and the blue paint was starting to peel off of it, but it was still usable, and the handle was still in very good condition. From all the mailboxes that he has seen, he knew _this one_ was the best. it didn't suddenly break on him, nor did it lock in place due to all the rust surrounding it. It was good and hardy, that mailbox.

Lifting up the cover, Tsuna came face-to-face with a white, manilla letter. It was sealed with some sort of red insignia, and the boy had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly who sent it.

"..." He could feel the desperation and panic rising up in his throat like a volcano waiting to happen, and without so much as another thought did he rip the letter into a hundred shreds. He was half tempted to burn the silly thing, but he knew that the smoke would attract others and the burning paper would get people curious. Oh god, the last thing he needed was someone being _curious_.

He hurried back inside and closed the door, locking it tightly before slowly returning to the kitchen, where his eager mother was waiting. He could feel his heart beating in his chest at a rapid speed, and he idly wondered if it would beat so fast that it would come out of his chest. He could taste the _bdump bdump_ on his mouth, and hear the muffling cries that his heart made. he hoped that infant would look into the mailbox and somehow figure that they were the wrong party, because if not, they were screwed.

Correction: _he_ was screwed.

"Did anything come in the mail?"

"No," the brunette replied shakily as he sat down to eat the scrumptious food his mother so graciously made him. The delicate foods touched the back of his throat, and forcing down a bitter laugh, he smiled genuinely.

"This is good, mom."

"Is it? I wanted to try something new this time. I'm glad you like it."

"Yeah, but anything you make is good." They continued to eat, Nana occasionally asking her son questions and Tsuna dutifully answering them, when a knock was heard at the door. If his heart was beating fast before, now it pumped incredibly fast as the boy shot up out of his seat and gave his mother an attempt at a bright smile. It worked. But then again, it always did.

"I'll go see who it is. Don't worry about it." Nana only smiled at him, and quickly waved him off so he could answer it and come back. But Tsuna didn't want to go, and he didn't want to come back. He just...wanted to stay between everything. But he couldn't. So with a nervous gulp, the boy opened the door and immediately looked down.

What greeted him was a baby with a small fedora on his head, a chameleon hugging his shoulder, and a suit as if some rich mother wanted to dress up her baby in the most expensive clothes to attend a ceremony. It was ridiculous, indeed, but Tsuna knew it was far form that when it came to him.

"Chaos," he said, his voice slightly higher form the fact that he was younger than the boy. "I'm Reborn, your home tutor."

Now this was the time that he was waiting for.

"I'm sorry, but I think you might have the wrong household," Tsuna boldly announced, his voice not wavering. He could do this. He could make it. He could do this, and Reborn wouldn't come back. Not now, not ever.

"This is the Sawadas, correct?"

"No..."

But he didn't have a chance to say anything else; his mother wondered out there with her shoes, staring at Tsuna.

"Tsu-kun? What's taking you so long?" At once, he immediately cursed himself at his stupidity. Of course his mother would wonder why he was taking so long. This was a thirty-second affair, not a five minute one.

"Someone just got the wrong house," he quickly answered her as he cracked the door. "I'll be there in a second." He was about to turn back, but his mother started to walk towards him, a concerned look on her well-shaped face.

"Oh, but you're bad at directions. Let me at it."

"But-"

"Don't worry about it. Now don't you have to go to school?" School could wait. Breakfast could wait. Homework could wait. Hell, anything could wait. But if he didn't send Reborn away now, everything would be up to naught. No no no, not again. He had to do this. This would be the last time.

"School can wait, mom. I want to help him." But she refused adamantly, and he knew that if he didn't do something fast, something fast...

"Do you know where the Sawada household is? I thought it was here, because a letter was addressed to here, but-"

"There was no letter here," Nana cut in, giving the baby a quizzical look. "But this_ is_ the Sawada household. What is it that you might need?"

"I'm the home tutor for Sawada Tsunayoshi," he declared, flicking his fedora upwards as he sometimes did. "Do you know who he might be or where he might be?" A flicker of recognition came into her eyes.

"Oh, you're talking about Tsu-kun, then!"

"I don't need a home tutor," the boy quickly bit out as he ran into the kitchen, grabbed his bag, and proceeded to run down the sidewalk. "Mom, can't you send him away?"

"You'll have better grades," Nana retorted as he ran down the street. "Don't be late!"

He could only wish that he were late. Hell, he wished that he were dead. Because there was nothing more heart wrenching than knowing that things were going to fall into place again, and that things were going to go sour.

"You're a student of Namimori Middle, yes?" Reborn had caught up to him, and sat on his shoulder while Tsuna ran. "I can-"

"For your sake and mine," Tsuna suddenly stopped running and stared at the baby sitting on his shoulder, who started back at him wide-eyed.

"Please leave me alone. I don't want to have anything to do with you, and if you test me, you won't like it." He placed the baby down again, and started to run. When he didn't hear tapping behind him, he assumed Reborn gave up and went ahead to badger him when got there. If there was anything he knew about the baby, he knew he was stubborn as hell. And there was no way that Reborn would give something up without a fight.

Maybe that's why Tsuna didn't freak out when he felt something crawling up his body.

"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?"

"I don't give up easily," the Italian boy countered as he sat on Tsuna's shoulder. He looked wary this time, but it didn't look like he was going to leave the teenage boy alone for quite some time. On one hand, Tsuna appreciated it. He could use the company, especially since he knew that when he got to school, he would be bullied. Again. He always was.

But on the other, he was very panicked and had no way to show it except for on his face, which remained annoyed because of the baby's presence. He knew that he was screwed. The baby already found him-thanks to his mom-and he was on Reborn's radar as a 'student'. But honestly,_ it_ would get worse if he didn't do something. Fast.

But he was all out of options and had no way to get rid of Reborn. After all, he did them all already.

* * *

A/R: Before you tell me anything, it's not what you think. I am sorry for the bad ending; I am just very tired and I can barely think. But I wanted to get this out as soon as possible since I wouldn't have to think about it again until October. I hope everyone enjoyed this, and please give me some feedback...I know I'll need it when I edit this thing again. And yes, I am very tired, so I probably will have to look at this again or something to beta myself.

Oh, and does anyone know if Reborn is really Italian or not? I said he was, but...*shrug*

Please give me some feedback! ~(*O*)~


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